Police suspect arson in fireplace at Wyoming abortion clinic web site

Police imagine an in a single day fire in Wyoming that damaged a constructing being renovated to accommodate a new abortion clinic was intentionally set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Could 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min learn

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open subsequent month in conservative Wyoming was damaged in a fireplace early Wednesday that police imagine was intentionally set — possibly by someone seen running away from the building carrying what seemed to be a gas can and a bag.

The blaze broken the within of the constructing underneath renovation to deal with the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest city in a state the place opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which also deliberate to offer other well being care services for girls, had been set to open in June as only the second place in the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for women to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

An individual who known as authorities before daybreak saw someone working from the constructing with what seemed to be a gas can and a black bag, police mentioned in a Facebook post. Investigators were reviewing video footage from the realm in hopes of figuring out the suspect or generating a suspect description, police said. No injuries have been reported.

Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s director, said clinic organizers had been receiving harassing emails and phone messages. The building had video cameras that have been functioning, and police got access to them, she mentioned.

“Whether you’re against abortion or support abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated Burkhart, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas, church in 2009.

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents at the future clinic website, and signs opposing abortion have been visible Wednesday in a window of an apartment subsequent door to the building.

Wyoming is considered one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called set off law that might instantly outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that can occur quickly.

Police temporarily closed off the street where the small constructing is positioned as officers investigated. Several of the constructing's home windows had been damaged, and smoke harm was visible around one shattered window.